Welcome to Our Blog! Our Story Starts Below...

Welcome to our blog! We set this up as an information hub about the progress of our little twin boys who were born on January 5, 2010. We along with our little boys first thank you so much for your love and support, and hope that this blog will give you an opportunity to follow their progress as they grow in the NICU at St. Jude Hospital in Fullerton.

Our little boys had a harrowing journey to get here. They were born at 25 weeks and 6 days, which is needless to say, very early. Jared William, was born at 10:49 a.m. feet first, and on the bathroom floor of the delivery room. Anthony Michael was born at 11:30 via C-section after he decided that he wanted to come out hands first.

Our story started on Monday, January 4 after a doctor's appointment with Dr. Gray. Danielle had been feeling generally, "crappy" the day before and reported what sounded like some contractions. The doctor decided to send us across the street to the hospital just to make sure everything was okay. After a couple of hours in labor and delivery the staff confirmed a few contractions, but very far apart. Her cervix was not dilated and the babies were fine.

The doctor sent us home and told us to keep track of the contractions, and so long as they weren't less than 7 minutes apart there was no need for concern. The next morning Danielle started feeling contractions again, but this time they were about five minutes apart. She called the doctor who said to wait another hour and see if they went away.

I was just getting ready to walk out the door to work when Danielle had a contraction that just about doubled her over. Deciding something wasn't right, I called the doctor and said we were coming to the hospital.

On our way to the hospital Danielle was having severe pains in her lower back every three minutes. When we arrived at the hospital Danielle was hooked up to the machines which registered no contractions at all. The doctors and nurses did not think her pains were contractions but constipation. After several attempts to alleviate that Danielle went into the bathroom still having severe lower back pain.

After a minute, I heard a scream, and Danielle was screaming that her babies were coming out. The nurses came rushing, as did the doctor, but Jared was too impatient to wait. He was born on the bathroom floor. After Danielle was moved to the bed, Anthony wasn't so cooperative and an emergency C-section was performed.

The NICU unit was quick to respond and help the teenie little babies breathe and fight for life. Jared was 2lbs. 1oz. and was 13 and 1/2 inches long. Anthony was 1lb. 15oz. and was 13 inches long.

The whole thing was totally unexpected, and frankly more traumatic than happy. But we are blessed with two gorgeous little miracle babies!

Our boys came home to us on March 26, 2010, after spending 81 days or about 12 weeks in the NICU at St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton. As you may note from our previous posts below, the journey was not without its bumps in the road.

There were highs, and there were lows. We and the boys braved two laser eye surgeries, and countless other obstacles and scares. But, we never lost confidence in the medical team in the NICU, and always kept our faith that God would lead us through this time.

Our steadfastness paid off, because now the boys are happy and healthy at home! This of course brings with it a totally new set of challenges that we are exicted and eager to experience. The task of caring for twin newborns is a daunting one, but a welcome one.

So, just because the boys are now home, don't think the blogging will stop. It may not be as consistent as before, but we will do our best to keep you all updated on their progress, and give you a window into our lives raising twin boys.

Enjoy!

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Thirteen Months and counting...

Anthony enjoying his birthday party

Jared enjoying his birthday cake

The four of us!

Anthony and Jared having fun in the bath

Well, time flies when you're having fun...or when you have twins that just turned one!!

The boys had their one year check up with their pediatrician and are continuing to do well. They both weighed in at 20 lbs. (Jared just a few ounces shy) and are continuing to grow by the minute, it seems.

They are one the move. Although they are not walking yet (Thank goodness!) they certainly are speed crawling ;) They love to pull themselves up and cruise along the table or couch and we have found out that Jared likes to climb (lucky us!).

Great news update: We finally met with a plastic surgeon regarding Anthony's metopic ridge in his forehead and he recommended we do not operate at this time. He said that his ridge and positional molding issues are very minor and if it were his child, he would not run the risk of the operation as it is a very invasive procedure. Jason and I were relieved, mostly because we did not want to have to make the decision to have the surgery or not. There are so many pros and cons to both sides and we weren't exactly ready to decide. The plastic surgeon recommended a follow up each year with him just to see how his growth progresses. He said it is possible that everything may just work itself out as his brain and head continue to grow but at the same time, it may stay the same even though his brain and head will continue to grow. Only time will tell. Just as the neurosurgeon indicated with the CAT Scan, there is still room in his scull for his brain to grow so it is not a medical issue at this time.

On a fun front, we are continuing to attend Kindermusik classes each week and the boys are still enjoying it. I have also started a 5 week sign language class with them. The class is more for me and proves to be an hour long play time for them, but it really benefits them in the long run. Sign language is supposed to help babies communicate long before they can talk. Although it seems clear that they understand what I'm telling/signing to them, they are not really picking up on signing back. Miss Annette (our teacher) said that it is normal and some kids don't pick up on the signing until long after the class is over. This is slightly frustrating for me, since many of the babies (some younger) in the class are repeating many of the signs to their parents. Just the life of parents of preemies I guess. You try not to compare them to other babies, or even compare them to each other, but in the end sometimes its hard to do.

Jason and I celebrated our first Valentine's Day with the boys home yesterday. It was, lets just say, not our most relaxing Valentine's Day together. Both Jared and Anthony were having a rough night and ended up going to bed a little earlier than normal due to a shortened afternoon nap. Jason and I finally sat down to dinner at about 9PM. Its days like that, although hectic and stressful when you are in the moment, that make you look back and realize how blessed we are to have our babies home with us every day.

I recently started bathing them together in the regular bathtub. They love it and have so much fun splashing and playing with their toys together. It is a lot easier (and faster) for Momma too!

Pretty soon here, I am going to change up their nap schedule. They are still napping twice a day, but soon we will switch over to one long nap in the mid-day. We will see how it goes. Last time I changed their naps it took me almost two months (and some help - Thanks to Nicolle and Darcy) to get Anthony switched over.

They are clearly going through a "Momma Phase" now. It is getting to where I can hardly leave the room these days. When I'm not home they are little "Angels" for whomever is watching them, but if I am home but not in the same room as them, they go crazy! If they can see me but not exactly touch me, all hell breaks loose! I know it is sweet that they want me, but it is getting a little upsetting because I can hardly get anything done anymore (whether Jason is home or not). A few of the Moms in our Kindermusik class reassured me that this is just a phase, but couldn't tell me how long it will last...keep your fingers crossed that it ends soon (for my sake).

They both have four teeth now. Two on top and two on the bottom for each. Jared's second top tooth just broke through yesterday, while Anthony's second bottom tooth it making its way in now. They have their fussy moments, but with Orajel, Tylenol and teething rings, we're making it day by day.

Jason and I still greatly appreciate all of your continued love and support and I keep you all in my prayers each night as well.